Sep 21, 2011

The sweet-salty combination of the roasted butternut squash, dried cherries and gorgonzola cheese along with the slight crunch of the pumpkin seeds topped with a honey dijon vinaigrette will have you savoring every bite!

Not having a plan for the butternut squash I purchased a few days ago, I really enjoyed this salad for lunch today. It far exceeded my expectations and was satisfying enough to enjoy as a main dish. In addition to the symphony of flavors and textures of this salad, the colors just scream Fall, perfect to add to your Thanksgiving menu! You can cook the butternut squash ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to assemble.

Gluten free, vegetarian and just plain good for you! (Vegans can leave out the cheese)

In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, salt and fresh ground pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast in the center of the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, turning half way, or until tender. When done, remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.

Divide the spinach on 4 plates and top each salad with the roasted butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, dried cherries, and the crumbled gorgonzola cheese. Drizzle the dressing over each salad and serve immediately.

This looks gorgeous, and best of all delicious. This will be on my lunch menu some time this week, for sure. I'm off to the grocery store in just a few minutes to gather some of the ingredients I don't already have.

I made this (an adapted version) last night and it is definitely my new favorite salad. I used goat cheese, cranberries and pecans since that is what I had on hand but it was delicious! I've never cooked with butternut squash before and it was pretty difficult to peel and cut but it was well worth the effort. Thanks Gina!!

Gina, I JUST realized this calls for white balsamic and I was planning to have this today. Do you think ordinary balsamic vinegar would change the flavor profile too much? I have never had white balsamic (that I know of.) Thanks. :)

I tried this tonight, it was delicious! I substituted Bragg's apple cider vinegar for the balsamic since I forgot to buy some, and served it with Trader Joe's coconut shrimp on top for a main course salad.

I made this salad last night and it was a huge hit (and I don't usually like butternut squash!). I have the leftovers for lunch and can't WAIT to eat them. I couldn't find pumpkin seeds so I threw in some walnuts, substituted goat cheese crumbles for gorgonzola, and because I can never seem to find dried cherries, I substituted cherry-flavored craisins (ocean spray brand). Oh and I used regular balsamic because my dumb supermarket would never carry anything "exotic" like white balsamic :) Tonight I'm making your Asian Meatballs - my husband is super-excited about those, especially after having this salad!

This was great! I had to make a few substitutions - goat cheese, craisins, and toasted pecans, and regular balsamic in the dressing. This was a nice side dish for dinner, and would make a very nice lunch on its own. Thanks so much for the idea.

I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong, tried to print this recipe using the "print friendly and PDF" button. Out came 10 pages and I only needed 1 page and the alignment is off as well, maybe you want to take a look at it?

Gina, my younger (grown) daughter and I fixed this, your pumpkin pie (using gluten-free crust),and your mashed garlic potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner. No one even missed the calories and it was all so delicious. Although we live 3 hours apart, she and I use your recipes all the time. Thank you so much for this site and for all the time you take perfecting them. Happy Thanksgiving!

This was just wonderful, and my company raved! I bought precut b-nut squash at Walmart. Used Good Seasons Italian Dressing (from mix) to save time. Next day had with leftover baked salmon. OMG! Heaven!